Austin Redistricting Process – Public Input

Hello Neighbors,

It is now time for City of Austin residents to redraw City Council district boundaries.

As you may know, Austin has 10 city council members and a mayor. The mayor is elected by residents citywide and each council member is elected by residents of a geographic district within the city. Austin has a process for residents to redraw the boundaries of the council districts every ten years.

OWANA wanted to let you know how you can participate in this process. A preliminary map has been adopted, and now is the time for residents to comment on that map. You can view a copy of the map here. Public forums will be held on the following dates. Full details, including locations, times, etc for these forums can be found here.

Saturday, Sept 18
Tuesday, Sept 21
Saturday, Sept 25
Tuesday, Sept 28
Saturday, Oct 2

More information on the redistricting process and next steps can be found by visiting the following sites:

Speak Up Austin – Redistricting
RedistrictATX

 

September General Membership Meeting

Please join us for our upcoming General Membership meeting, to be held in-person (!) outdoors at Mathews Elementary School, on September 7 at 7pm. Please wear a mask. Access the meeting through the rear entrance of Mathews on Robertson St.

Highlights at the meeting will be:
— A discussion of preventing and reporting neighborhood crime
— A raffle for ACL 3-day passes!
— General update on neighborhood happenings, including park improvements, upcoming events, etc.

A full agenda is in the most recent edition of the OWL newsletter.

Hope to see you there!

Budget Town Hall – Participation Details

Hello Neighbors!
As a follow up to the email that went out to OWANA members last week, below is information about joining in and participating in Councilmember Tovo’s Budget Town Hall on Monday, July 19. Please consider participating if you have opinions on how the City should prioritize funding for this upcoming fiscal year.
When: 5:30-6:30 pm, Monday July 19
What: CM Tovo and Interim Budget Officer Kerri Lang will discuss the proposed FY22 budget, followed by a moderated Q&A session.
After you submit your registration, you will receive an email containing the video link and call-in number. Attendees can submit questions via the chat function in real time. Attendees who will be calling in and not using the video platform should email their questions for the panelists at budgetqa@austintexas.gov.
For more information on the budget process, budget documents, and to provide feedback, visit: AustinTexas.gov/Budget.
Kathie Tovo and her staff continue to provide updates through Twitter (@kathietovo) and Facebook: www.facebook/ktovo. (You do not need a Facebook account to access the City Council page.)

4th of July Celebration!

We missed celebrating Independence Day with everyone last year, and we hope you can join us for a small celebration this year. Details are as follows; spread the word and we hope to see you there!

Sunday, July 4 (of course!), about 6-8pm at West Austin Park, where you’ll have a view of the  HEB/Austin Symphony fireworks show.

Casey’s New Orleans Snowballs will be there from 6-8pm!
The Almost Readys will entertain us with live music!

We’ll also have an assortment of games like bocce ball, corn hole, ladder ball, etc.

Bring your own picnic dinner/drinks and come by to meet old friends and make new ones!

Please keep in mind that there may be unvaccinated children and others at the event; continue to social distance per CDC guidelines.

Rezoning of UT’s ‘Gateway Tract’

You may have heard (and if you  haven’t, you’re in the right place!), the City Council has initiated zoning cases on properties in our neighborhood currently owned by the The University of Texas. This property includes the land occupied by the Gateway Apartment and the Open Door Preschool.

There is not a request for specific zoning from UT, nor is there a recommendation from the City staff on any proposed zoning districts at this time.

The City of Austin will be holding a public meeting to receive your input and ideas on any potential future development of the property.

Some neighborhood residents have met to discuss the potential rezoning, and their thoughts are summarized in this document.

The public (and virtual) meeting about the site will be held on Monday, June 21, 2021 6:00 – 8:00 PM. Details are below. If you would like to be included on the email list for notification for future meetings, email the Case Manager with the City of Austin, Wendy Rhoades, at Wendy.Rhoades@austintexas.gov.

Please be advised that due to the anticipated large number of meeting participants, those wishing to speak will be given 1 minute of speaking time. If you would prefer to provide written input, you can submit it to Speak Up Austin and/or email Wendy Rhoades.

**********************
Join Zoom Meeting
 
Meeting ID: 988 3627 4241
Passcode: 324757
 
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Meeting ID: 988 3627 4241
Passcode: 324757
Find your local number: https://zoom.us/u/ab8xWJiAMq
 
Join by Skype for Business

June General Membership Meeting

We hope you can join us for our next General Membership on Tuesday, June  1 at 7pm. The Zoom link and password are below.

Agenda Items include the following, and a full agenda is here.

–West Austin Pool support
–Potential renaming of Confederate Street
–Discussion of next in-person (!) events
–Future meeting topics: leaf blowers, light pollution/safety, etc.
–Committee reports (zoning, parks, etc.)

Join via Zoom Meeting Link:

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84245493797?pwd=cWJDbjhxMXBqOG83WUgzL29Kc2EwQT09

    Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797

    Passcode: owanameet!

Or…. Dial in:  (346) 248-7799

Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797

Passcode: owanameet!

West Austin Park Needs Your Help

Please see below to learn more about the Friends of West Austin Park and an upcoming project that you can support!

One thing that’s become crystal clear over the last 12 months is that our parks are more important than ever. If you have visited West Austin Park recently you know that it’s the “go to” spot for kids and dog lovers alike. But aside from the dog park, there really is no area for adults to sit and converse with neighbors or quietly read a book.

We intend to change that. The Friends of West Austin Park (FOWAP) is a non-profit group spearheading an effort to repurpose and beautify an underutilized corner of the park. See the preliminary plan.

This is far more than an idea. We already have…

….preliminary support from the Austin Parks and Recreation Department (PARD)

…$50,000 already contributed thanks to generous support from Mid-City Development

…designs in progress from TBG – a local landscape architecture firm

We’ll be reaching out to neighbors in April to get feedback on the proposed design.

This is a big project. PARD will approve it but that’s about it. It’s up to us neighbors to design, promote, fund and coordinate this project. Will you help? We are looking for committee volunteers with these skills:

  • Social media
  • Website design/graphic design
  • Email marketing
  • Videos and drone videography
  • Grant writing and fundraising
  • Park events coordination

If you are interested in volunteering please email chris.schorre@gmail.com or text me at 512-731-1520.

One last thing. Amplify Austin runs from March 4 at 6PM through March 5 at 6PM. After you have supported our fellow Austinites affected by the storm, please consider donating to support this project. Every dollar you donate during this 24 hour period will be matched – doubling your contribution. Here’s the donation link. 

Best Regards,

Chris Schorre
Community Outreach Committee
Friends of West Austin Park
Neighbor Resident Since 2001
www.WestAustinPark.org

March General Membership Meeting

We hope you can join us for our first meeting of 2021, on Tuesday, March 2, at 7pm.

The meeting will be held virtually. Here is information on how to join:

Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797
Passcode: owanameet!
One tap mobile
+13462487799,,84245493797# US (Houston)
+16699009128,,84245493797# US (San Jose)
Dial by your location
        +1 346 248 7799 US (Houston)
        +1 669 900 9128 US (San Jose)
        +1 253 215 8782 US (Tacoma)
        +1 312 626 6799 US (Chicago)
        +1 646 558 8656 US (New York)
        +1 301 715 8592 US (Washington DC)
Meeting ID: 842 4549 3797
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kcvnF6TkvY

OWANA December General Membership Meeting

We hope you can join us for our final (virtual) membership meeting of 2020, on Tuesday, December 1 at 7pm. The Zoom link and password are below.

Agenda Items include:
–Information on a proposed bar/restaurant at the former Wiggy’s location at 6th & Blanco
–Update on large projects in the neighborhood, such as the Westline condominiums on 9th St
–Porch-front Christmas caroling on Dec. 19th
–Steering Committee nominations

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/4749678778?pwd=VHp4V0ZMY3JhakQxNzYraGJrWTJ5Zz09

Meeting ID: 474 967 8778
Passcode: OWANA